The raccoon shown last month in a viral video getting drunk in a Virginia liquor store is a repeat offender at that same strip mall, also having sneaked into the Department of Motor Vehicles and a karate studio.
The raccoon became famous for its Nov. 29 break-in into the closed state-operated Alcohol Beverage Control Authority store in Ashland, about 15 miles north of Richmond. It smashed bottles of scotch and other whiskey on a bottom shelf, proceeded to get drunk and passed out in a bathroom, Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter said.
Animal protection officer Samantha Martin explained Thursday in an appearance on Hanover County’s public access podcast “Hear in Hanover” that the liquor store caper was the third time the same raccoon had gotten into spaces at the same Ashland shopping center.
“He was in the karate studio. I think he got into the DMV, ate some of their snacks one time. Each time we get him out, we don’t relocate him because that’s a death sentence for raccoons, but somehow he knows how to get back in this building,” Ms. Martin said.
The raccoon was released into the wild after the liquor store incident and was not relocated because the strip mall falls within its mating territory.
“And he’s about a mile from the ABC store, so he’s within his own territory, so we did not relocate him. Wild male raccoons, they can go up to 8 miles a day to find a mate. So he is within his boundary. He is good to go,” Ms. Martin said.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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